


The Benefits of Afternoon Tea

by WhirlyBot



Series: The Golden Teahouse [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Kinda, M/M, Meet-Cute, keith works in a teahouse, lance is a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:32:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7587058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhirlyBot/pseuds/WhirlyBot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cute-Server squints at him for a moment, then sighs as if to say, <em>some people are just fucking weirdos</em>. “You brought a friend with you,” he says to Hunk, and it’s clearly not a question.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Hunk says, barely containing his snickers, and Lance suppresses the urge to kick him under the table. “Keith, meet Lance. Lance, Keith.”</p>
<p>Lance smiles at Cute-Server (<em>Keith</em>, he tells himself) and dies on the inside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Benefits of Afternoon Tea

Lance has barely taken two steps inside the small teahouse when the smell hits him. He freezes in the doorway, taking a deep sniff to make sure it’s real. The aroma is earthy and sweet and utterly intoxicating.

He doesn’t notice that he hasn’t moved until Hunk nudges him. “Uh, Lance?”

Shaking his head, Lance quickly steps out of the way. “Just spaced out for a second. Where do you wanna sit?” He surveys the place, which only consists of a large room with a few tables scattered around. 

Hunk chooses a table that’s next to a green-tinted window. Lance thinks that’s a bit weird, but whatever. He picks a tea menu up off the table and flips through it idly. “Their food must be amazing, or else this is so not worth it. I don’t even like tea.”

Hunk’s eyes light up. “Oh man, their biscuits are so good, you don’t even know.”

Lance catches sight of a pretty bronze bell sitting on the edge of the table. “Hey, what’s this for?”

Hunk glances over. “Oh, that’s to call the server, but I wouldn’t-“

Lances rings the bell.

They only wait for a few seconds until a server appears and, okay, Lance hadn’t bargained on there being any attractive employees. He puts on his best casual flirting face and plans out how the conversation will go. He’ll say something witty and charming, Cute-Server will be smitten, and Lance scores.

“You have a mullet,” he says intelligently.

Cute-Server squints at him for a moment, then sighs as if to say, _some people are just fucking weirdos_. “You brought a friend with you,” he says to Hunk, and it’s clearly not a question.

“Yeah,” Hunk says, barely containing his snickers, and Lance suppresses the urge to kick him under the table. “Keith, meet Lance. Lance, Keith.”

Lance smiles at Cute-Server ( _Keith, he tells himself_ ) and dies on the inside. He’s spared any more embarrassment by Keith asking for their order. Hunk tells him he wants his usual, and Lance quickly scans the menu for something he can pronounce without looking like an idiot.

“Earth to Lance?” He’s snapped out of his search by Hunk’s voice. Keith looks almost impatient, so Lance takes another glance and says the first thing he sees. “I’ll have the, uh, Gooey Hoo Cha?”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “The Gui Hua Cha?” He pronounces it as _gway hwah cha_.

“Sorry,” Lance says, cringing.

The corners of Keith’s mouth twitch. “It’s fine, not many people who come here know how to say it. I’ll be back soon with your order,” he says, then walks into the back of the teahouse. Once he’s out of their sight, Lance slams his forehead on the table.

Hunk laughs, reaching over to pat his friend on the head. “You didn’t screw up that badly. Plus, Keith is a good person, if a little prickly. I think you’ll like him.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Lance says, looking up, “because I refuse to like anyone with such a ridiculous haircut.”

Hunk laughs at him again.

“I’m serious!” Lance exclaims, “He looks like he’s from the 80’s. I bet he has a motorcycle. If I go outside right now, and walk around to the back, there is going to be a motorcycle parked there and it’ll belong to him.”

“Even if he does have one, maybe he drives a car to work.”

“No, he’s the type to take a motorcycle everywhere. Six hour drive? On a motorcycle.”

They bicker about the hypothetical motorcycle until Keith reappears, holding a tray with two steaming mugs and a plate of biscuits. He sets them down almost daintily, and Lance certainly does not stare at his hands. What kind of guy would notice how thin and elegant someone’s fingers are? A creep, that’s who.

He’s distracting from his not-staring by the smell coming from his tea. Picking up the mug, he inhales deeply. “Oh, my god.”

Keith’s lips curve upward just slightly. “If you need anything else, just ring the bell.” He takes the empty tray back and walks away.

Lance is too distracted to even check him out as he does so. Instead, he’s practically burying his nose in his cup. “Hunk, are we dead? Nothing on Earth smells this good.”

Hunk grins at him, dipping a biscuit into his own tea. “I told you this place was awesome.”

Lance doesn’t reply, simply takes his first sip and immediately takes back everything bad he’s ever said about tea.

◊

When they finish, Keith comes back to clear away their cups. Hunk pays, then excuses himself and goes outside, giving a thumbs up to Lance when Keith isn’t looking, and Lance makes a silent promise to get him back if this doesn’t go well.

Keith starts carrying the cups into the back, and Lance stops him, putting a hand on his arm. He draws it back quickly, since Keith doesn’t seem like the touchy-feely type.

“Yes?” Keith asks, shifting the tray to one hand and putting the other on his hip. _Definitely gay, there is a window of opportunity here_.

“Could I get your number?” Lance says quickly, then winces. “Wait, no, I was going to actually talk to you before I asked, I’m not a creep.” This is exactly something a creep would say.

Keith actually smiles, reaching up to brush a strand of dark hair out of his face. “Come back tomorrow and I’ll think about it.”

_Holy shit, it sort of worked_. Lance clears his throat before replying. “Sure, I can do that. See you soon, then.”

They both stand there, unmoving, staring at each other. They start talking at the same time.

“I’ll just go put these away-“

“Hunk is probably waiting-“ 

Another pause, and then Lance starts backing away towards the door, still looking at Keith. “Yeah, I’m gonna… go. For real, this time.”

“Right,” Keith says, looking a bit flustered, “I need to get back to work.”

They both pretend to ignore the fact that they’re the only two people in the teahouse.

“Great, you, uh, have fun with that.” Lance backs up against the door, fumbles for the knob, and then bolts outside.

He is proud of himself for only glancing back three times on his way to the car. Once he slides into the passenger seat, he looks over to see Hunk grinning at him. “What? So I talked to him.”

“And?” Hunk nudges him.

Lance shrugs and tries to look nonchalant. “He’s nice enough.”

“Even with his mullet?”

Lance turns so that he’s facing the window. “It’s not… that bad, actually.”

“Uh huh,” Hunk says smugly, “and did you ask if he has a motorcycle?”

“No,” Lance replies, and then smiles. “But I have a feeling I’ll find out anyway.”

“ _Will_ you now,” Hunk says, sounding absolutely delighted.

Lance is too busy thinking about Keith to be the slightest bit affected by his friend’s teasing. _Yeah,_ he thinks to himself, _if I’m lucky, I’ll be learning a lot of things about him_.

For the first time in his life, Lance is actually looking forward to tea.

**Author's Note:**

> Gui Hua Cha is a real Chinese scented green tea, and it smells heavenly! Give it a try if you ever get the chance.


End file.
